Marketing Projections for 2011

The marketing landscape is changing quite rapidly these days, if youâ€™re still advertising the way you were in 2009, youâ€™re missing some valuable opportunities today and more importantly, youâ€™ll miss significant opportunities as we move into 2011.

Trends of 2010 out there in blog-land this week, and they are an important marker in understanding how our marketing worlds have changed. Whatâ€™s important though is what you DO with that information. One of the most compelling pieces Iâ€™ve seen this week comes from eMarketer.com and itâ€™s a nice infographic on where business executives plan to increase marketing spending in 2011. Take just a moment and let it sink in. Unsurprisingly, the single largest jumps are Email Marketing (65%) and Social Media (57%), followed by Search (41%) and Mobile (35%). The increased spending in these areas makes sense â€“ these are new advertising mediums that are beginning to be necessary components for any business mega/worldwide or the butcher around the corner.

These projections speak to a monumental shift in the way businesses spend their advertising dollars in 2011. They also allude to the fact that 50% of marketing executives plan to increase their marketing spend in 2011. So not only will businesses be spending their money differently, theyâ€™ll be spending more of it. That is indeed good news for small and large businesses alike. It means that there will be more discretionary money available in 2011, but it also means that competing for share of mind among consumers is going to be more difficult.

Compounding that shifting landscape is that 50% of business executives have a strategy and are acquiring the tools necessary implement those strategies. So not only are your competitors getting ready to spend more money, in places they havenâ€™t spent it before, but they have also done their research.

If you were planning on marketing as usual in 2011, Iâ€™m afraid youâ€™re way behind the eight-ball. Take some time, now, to evaluate how your business can leverage email marketing better. If you arenâ€™t collecting email addresses, START! If you arenâ€™t doing a monthly newsletter, ITâ€™S TIME. If you donâ€™t have a Facebook page, Twitter account or Blog, this is your moment. And if youâ€™re not integrating all of these things together and wrapping in your traditional advertising with search and mobile, youâ€™re missing out on some invaluable layers that will help to create your businessâ€™ success in 2011. The marketing world has changed and you owe it to your business to change with it.